Students are calling on Wash U to take a stronger stance on Missouri’s abortion ban

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade, many universities across the country sent messages to their employees and students supporting or denouncing the ruling.

But in St. Louis, universities largely did not weigh in. Washington University did release a statement, but some frustrated students said it did not take a strong enough position.

“At the very least, we would have liked to have seen a statement of support from the university that the administration cares about the civil rights and freedoms of its student body,” said Sarah Rosen, a Wash U student and vice president of a Planned Parenthood campus organization.

After the Supreme Court’s ruling Friday, Missouri’s trigger ban went into effect. Abortion is now illegal in the state except in cases where the parent’s health is severely threatened. The new legal landscape will have the greatest effect on people who can get pregnant, which includes a large portion of students at colleges and universities.

In the week since the ban went into effect, Harris Stowe State University, St. Louis University and the University of Missouri-St. Louis did not release a public statement or communicate to students and staff about the decision.